Octopath Traveler Review Thread

TYRANITARR · Jul 12, 2018

HosannaExcelsis said:
Probably the explicit breakdown of this game into chapters makes the structure more obvious to people who would have overlooked it in a game without those explicit markers. Also it sounds like the developers did not intend a person to actually go through all 8 stories in a single playthrough but instead focus on a couple, so they may not have put measures into place to ensure that people who did want to play all 8 in one go had an optimal experience.

I feel like the developers intended us to do something like:

Play Character 1's story, Play Character 2, Play Character 3, Go back to Character 1, Try Character 4, Continue Character 2, Continue Character 3, Try New Character 5, etc.

I think the way people are playing it:

Character, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... Then Continue 1, 2,3,4 ,5 etc....

Is NOT what they intended.

Phonzo · Jul 12, 2018

Stairouais said:
Some people here are waiting for it like the second coming of Japanese RPG.

I was expecting FF6 X-2

TanookiTom · Jul 12, 2018

I am super happy about the reviews. The mid-80is it's currently sitting is at the higher end of what I expected possible for this game. I could have easily imagined something in the 70ies (I have played both demos).

The only real let-down for me is that the stories don't intertwine. I was really looking forward to how they would have done that but I guess I can also live with how it came to be.

All in all the demos were a lot of old-school fun for me with some much needed modern tweaks. So I am hoping for it to be successful enough to merit a second part, maybe this time addressing the story criticism.

Deleted member 2791 · Jul 12, 2018

Stairouais said:
Some people here are waiting for it like the second coming of Japanese RPG.

it's reviewing pretty highly for a japanese RPG though, the only other game that reviewed higher in the recent years was Persona 5 I believe ? and that was indeed one of the most important JRPG of the last decade

Deleted member 5491 · Jul 12, 2018

This thread is like any other Octopath thread.
So much black and white it's kinda amusing.

ThisIsMyDogKyle said:
Some of you people are overdramatic as hell lol. Like, when did an 84 stop being a really good score and when did reviews with a positive tone just apparently stop mattering?

Since every game needs to be Game of the Generation 90+ Metascore.

Kylo Rey · Jul 12, 2018

Question:
How is the size of the game?
I don't know if i will wait tomorrow for physical or go digital

Deleted member 2145 · Jul 12, 2018

Phantom Thief said:
Oh if I were responsible, the same would be true of me.

I am not responsible.

I'm not responsible either, I'm just getting the game from Best Buy and they don't do midnight

Yasumi · Jul 12, 2018

Think I'll cancel my preorder. The negatives mentioned are the kinds of things that would honestly bother me. Going to pick up Shining Resonance instead.

Worldshaker · Jul 12, 2018

Kotakus review was starting to make me regret pre-ordering since I never do, but Happy Console Game just gave me some confidence again. I trust his reviews a lot (no disrespect to Jason. I like him too)

Deleted member 8112 · Jul 12, 2018

Disclaimer · Jul 12, 2018

Aniki said:
Is it rare that they talk to each other?

It's been said to be multiple times per chapter, and each conversation I've seen so far has been very characterizing. The characters involved in such conversations change depending on your active party, which means everyone will have a different experience with the game.

If every combination of characters has multiple characterizing conversations—which I believe they do—then that will be more meaningful interactions than most classic RPGs' casts.

Deleted member 6730 · Jul 12, 2018

Sagadego17 said:
oh boy time for shit posting cause you don't know what the hell your talking about. it had 2 demos.

Imagine being this upset.

Totakeke · Jul 12, 2018

The repetitive nature of the game is also tied to the story structure, so again, if you compare this to what you expect out of your usual JRPG, you're not like starting out in a village ambushed by an empire, going to a city and recruiting more allies, having the world destroyed, and then seeing some apocalyptic views before killing the boss.

Here you're mostly just visiting intact towns and cities and finishing each of the 8 character stories without the world changing that much, because it can't since you have seven other characters the world needs to serve.

That, by itself, can already be considered too repetitive for a JRPG.

Bumrush · Jul 12, 2018

Anyone starting to receive Amazon copies early?

Shepherd · Jul 12, 2018

It's funny to see people looking at the negative reviews and saying it saved them from a purchase, when positive ones are vastly outnumbering them. Makes me think they'd never purchase the game in the first place. Also it's interesting to see that one of the few reviewers who didn't like the game was the most participative one in the preview thread. Kinda funny.

Kthulhu · Jul 12, 2018

Shame about the characters not interacting. Seems like a huge waste of potential to me.

I might pick it up on sale at a later date, but I'm glad I cancelled my pre-order.

Derrick01 · Jul 12, 2018

ThisIsMyDogKyle said:
Some of you people are overdramatic as hell lol. Like, when did an 84 stop being a really good score and when did reviews with a positive tone just apparently stop mattering?

Scores don't really matter since the media isn't capable of giving them out properly in sync with their written stuff. I'm reading the game has a ton of grinding and repetition and yet there's plenty of 8s and 9s. That doesn't make much sense to me.

Granted this media would give just about anything a 8/10 nowadays. I really wish scores would go away.

Deleted member 2145 · Jul 12, 2018

jschreier said:
7/4

someone will get this

DTC · Jul 12, 2018

Wow, metacritic average is 1 point lower than I expected. Preorder cancelled, day ruined

When are we gonna get another mastapiece like Bookworm Adventures?

Deleted member 4090 · Jul 12, 2018

jipewithin said:
Yeah 84 open and metacritics = bomba

Era with hyoerboles once again. Tales of Berseria is 79 and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 83 and both are awesome jrpgs.

But it is no NNK2...

Jokes aside, I feel like Resetera's average view of JRPGs differs vastly from critical reception, and that the divide for JRPGs is larger than it is for other genres.

andymcc · Jul 12, 2018

Is the game reminiscent of the structure of DQIV?

Admiral Woofington · Jul 12, 2018

jschreier said:
7/4

You joke but someone will now use your post seriously.

"Jason schreier gave it a score of 175 out of 100!"

Shifty1897 · Jul 12, 2018

DNAbro said:
That seems incredibly fast compared to some other playtimes. Like IGN said it took 53 hours to finish one story.

He said he also finished Olberic's path too. But something's off about the IGN review, take it with a grain of salt.

Gobias-Ind · Jul 12, 2018

It's amazing to me that people are concerned with the "suspension of disbelief" required to stomach 8 standalone stories in a fantasy rpg with mages, frog enemies and bosses that inexplicably grow 20x their normal size in combat.

Wtf?

Deleted member 2791 · Jul 12, 2018

Shepherd said:
Makes me think they'd never purchase the game in the first place.

yeah well that's usually what happens with people reaction to switch or xbox one games

Clix · Jul 12, 2018

OrdinaryPrime said:
I'm not only counting his.

Playing through my portion of the demo, I'll be interested to see what I think of this. Since when I found a new character, there wasn't really anything acknowledging it.

I think the victim complex that you're displaying here is silly. I understand that perhaps facts was too strong a word for the cohesiveness (although I think the players will come to a conclusion one way or another in a month or two's time). But really, the other two things I listed you've seemed to ignore. I'm not ignoring the positives. The game looks and sounds amazing and the combat is great. I knew this from playing the demo. I'm looking to see if there's really 50 hours of content for me to play. Otherwise I'll keep grinding in Stardew :).

Dude, there is no victim complex. I didn't make the game. It's not this thread only, but in general. When you have contradictory reviews with various experiences, people usually cling to only the negative ones and ignore the positive ones.

Examples. Jason and Nadia both love RPGs, especially Japanese ones. Both are well versed in the genre and have been involved for years and years. One says, the game is just alright, stories don't intersect and are just alright... the other says the opposite regarding the stories and characters and combat, outside of random encounters which she is not a fan of (me neither, so will agree with that full) and would have preferred the Bravely Default slider system.

So maybe truth is in the middle and dependant on the play experience. Maybe Jason says there is no intersecting because he was expecting a sweeping grand epic. Nadia says there is intersection, but it's more personal and fully focused on who the characters are and that it works for the type of stories they are trying to tell.

So it seems this game is very contradictory and that every person will have a different experience with it.

Instro · Jul 12, 2018

jschreier said:
Actually I said the opposite. I played the entire thing, which is how I know that 31 of the 32 chapters follow the exact same pattern (go to town, watch cut-scenes, do some Path Actions, go to a dungeon, fight a boss, fin). People who haven't finished all eight stories don't really have a sense of just how repetitive the game is.

Sounds like the structure for the entire DQ series, unless I'm misunderstanding something.

RDreamer · Jul 12, 2018

Phantom Thief said:
So like, am I the only one who's actually excited by these reviews? Lol

Reviews seem to confirm exactly what I thought of the game, so I'm definitely still very excited.

I'm not sure what others realistically expected as far as review scores anyway. JRPGs don't get high scores. That's just a reality. Great JRPGs get 80-90 meta scores, and this sits firmly right there. I played the demo and that was great, too.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

HosannaExcelsis · Jul 12, 2018

Shepherd said:
It's funny to see people looking at the negative reviews and saying it saved them from a purchase, when positive ones are vastly outnumbering them. Makes me think they'd never purchase the game in the first place. Also it's interesting to see that one of the few reviewers who didn't like the game was the most participative one in the preview thread. Kinda funny.

There's probably a connection between that reviewer being active on this forum and his review getting the most attention here. Just a hunch.

Marukoban · Jul 12, 2018

LordKano said:
it's reviewing pretty highly for a japanese RPG though, the only other game that reviewed higher in the recent years was Persona 5 I believe ? and that was indeed one of the most important JRPG of the last decade

Yes and Persona 5 is another JRPG with repetitive structure, boring dungeon design and very grindy, yet loved by the same people who jump on every same "negative" aspects of OT.

Kylo Rey · Jul 12, 2018

let see the review thread

Glio · Jul 12, 2018

Derrick01 said:
Scores don't really matter since the media isn't capable of giving them out properly in sync with their written stuff. I'm reading the game has a ton of grinding and repetition and yet there's plenty of 8s and 9s. That doesn't make much sense to me.

Granted this media would give just about anything a 8/10 nowadays. I really wish scores would go away.

Persona 5 has a 93 in Metacritic and has a ton of grinding and repetition, I do not know why it should surprise

60fps · Jul 12, 2018

nycgamer4ever said:
No it doesn't mean that but the test in that review confirms several things that are huge deal killers for me and a lot of people. I'm sure i will still find enjoyment in the game but for $60 Stories not connecting, structural issues, grindy and repetitive are no nos for me. Glad I didn't pre-order. Will definitely pick it up on sale later on though. Will be getting Ys instead.

Yep.

ALSO, I am pretty sure the developers will eventually listen to players and patch in certain fixes and features, like making grinding less tedious, stuff liek this; so I am sure buying the game at a later date will be a worthwhile decision.

ggdeku · Jul 12, 2018

Yeah this is going to be a skip from me. The RPGSite and Kotaku reviews really laid out that my worries from the demo were true. Unconnected stories, characters that never acknowledge each other, grinding problems, etc.

It just seems like worse version of the Bravely games in every way.

Disclaimer · Jul 12, 2018

Kylo Rey said:
Question:
How is the size of the game?
I don't know if i will wait tomorrow for physical or go digital

Main story is ~50-70 hours playing normally, completionist over 100hr.

Elven_Star · Jul 12, 2018

Kylo Rey said:
Question:
How is the size of the game?
I don't know if i will wait tomorrow for physical or go digital

A little less than 4GB.

jschreier · Jul 12, 2018

Clix said:
Dude, there is no victim complex. I didn't make the game. It's not this thread only, but in general. When you have contradictory reviews with various experiences, people usually cling to only the negative ones and ignore the positive ones.

Examples. Jason and Nadia both love RPGs, especially Japanese ones. Both are well versed in the genre and have been involved for years and years. One says, the game is just alright, stories don't intersect and are just alright... the other says the opposite regarding the stories and characters and combat, outside of random encounters which she is not a fan of (me neither, so will agree with that full) and would have preferred the Bravely Default slider system.

So maybe truth is in the middle and dependant on the play experience. Maybe Jason says there is no intersecting because he was expecting a sweeping grand epic. Nadia says there is intersection, but it's more personal and fully focused on who the characters are and that it works for the type of stories they are trying to tell.

So it seems this game is very contradictory and that every person will have a different experience with it.

It is a fact that the stories are entirely standalone. There are a few references and shared NPCs across the stories, but the stories do not intersect at all.

You're probably thinking of the optional vignettes that you can watch during each chapter, which is the only time that your characters interact.

Mark H · Jul 12, 2018

Review seems great, have the game preloaded already, but I need to finish Ys VIII first.
I seriously need to make more free time in my life,

Kylo Rey · Jul 12, 2018

Disclaimer said:
Main story is ~50-70 hours playing normally, completionist over 100hr.

i was talking file size lol (but thanks!! )

TYRANITARR · Jul 12, 2018

Marukoban said:
Yes and Persona 5 is another JRPG with repetitive structure, boring dungeon design and very grindy, yet loved by the same people who jump on every same "negative" aspects of OT.

LOL the beloved Persona 3 and Persona 4 is very very boring dungeon design and very explicit about "ITS DUNGEON TIME" more than other JRPGs.

It had a very very engaging story though, and music and combat system,

Possumowner · Jul 12, 2018

Disclaimer said:
Main story is ~50-70 hours playing normally, completionist over 100hr.

Now that I didn't know,got me even more excited now

Deleted member 2791 · Jul 12, 2018

PsychoHydro said:
ALSO, I am pretty sure the developers will eventually listen to players and patch in certain fixes and features, like making grinding less tedious, stuff liek this; so I am sure buying the game at a later date will be a worthwhile decision.

considering it's the opinion of a vast minority of people, i don't think so

Plankton2 · Jul 12, 2018

I feel like so many reviewers are getting caught up in whether a game will be a classic or not. Just review it, there is no way to tell what people will think months down the line

Ex-Psych · Jul 12, 2018

Seems to have stabilize at 84. Good, good

8 characters, 4 teams.

jack_package_200 · Jul 12, 2018

If you think this thread is bad, wait til til the digital foundry thread

MonadL · Jul 12, 2018

jschreier said:
7/4

:thinkingemoji:

That's a fair score

Deleted member 4090 · Jul 12, 2018

Shifty1897 said:
He said he also finished Olberic's path too. But something's off about the IGN review, take it with a grain of salt.

No grains of salt needed. The game is Open World with 8 different endings and a ton of side content. Jason focused in the main quest and no side content, while that guy uploading YouTube videos explored the world for 82 hours without finishing most of the main quests, and like 25% of the proper side quests.

Open World games will have huge variance in play times, and this game will probably be more variant than most?

Kain-Nosgoth · Jul 12, 2018

Welp, they failed the big thing that would have made the game way more interesting... that's what i was affraid of by playing the demo... almost no character interaction is such a missed opportunity...

still buying it though, but man, that's disappointing to hear

Phonzo · Jul 12, 2018

You can tell which sites are RPGs reviewers and which sites are just general game reviewers.

I trust the former a little more, but i also trust my own judgement on the demo i played even more.

OHRye · Jul 12, 2018

The fact that they're all separate stories, and don't really connect at all is a huge turnoff for me

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